Sheet feeding mechanism



y 1957 A. R. FRANK ETAL SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 22, 1955 INVENTOR. ANTON RICHARD FRANK 3 WILUAM H. ewes 2,792,219 SHEET FEEDlNG MECHANISM Anton Richard Frank, Long Island City, and Wiliiam H.

Giles, Brooklyn N. 1 assignors to Van Buren Wrapping Machine C orporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 22, 1953, Serial No. 331,564 1 Claim. (Cl. 271-8) This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism.

More particularly stated, the invention relates to mechanism for feeding sheets or wrappers in wrapping machines. In such machines the sheets are usually fed from a stack to feeding mechanism which, in turn, feeds the sheets to the wrapping mechanism. Thus there is provided one set of feeding means for withdrawing the sheets from the stack and another set for receiving the withdrawn sheets and feeding them to the wrapping mechanism.

The second feeding mechanism must operate at a higher speed than the first since the wrapping mechanism operates at high speed and the sheets must be spaced to permit one wrapper to reach the wrapping mechanism and to engage the article being wrapped before the next wrapper moves into position in the wrapping mechanism.

Attempts have been made to solve this problem by operating the second feeding mechanism at a relatively slow initial speed and then speeding up the feed. This method has not proven entirely satisfactory since it is very dilficult to synchronize the initial speed of the second feed with the delivery speed of the first.

This invention has for its salient object to provide sheet feed mechanism by which the sheet can be pulled away from the first feeding mechanism at a relatively high speed without placing the sheet under tension or tearing the sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide sheet feeding mechanism comprising means operated at a relatively low speed for feeding the sheets from the stack and means operating at a relatively high speed for receiving the sheets from the first feeding mechanism, the first feeding mechanism being so constructed and arranged that the sheets can be taken away from the first feeding means at a relatively high speed without placing the sheet under undue tension or tearing the sheet.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection With the drawings which form a part of this application and in which Fig. l is a vertical sectional elevation of feeding mechanism embodying the invention, this view being taken substantially on line 1-1 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the feeding mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the second or relatively high speed feeding mechanism, this view being taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the sheet feeding means comprises two sets of feeding mechanisms designated generally as A and B. These two sets of feeding mechanisms are connected by a sprocket chain which meshes with a sprocket 11 connected to shaft 12 of the feeding mechanism A and meshes with a sprocket wheel 15 mounted on a shaft 16 of the drive mechanism B. Either of the nited States Patent 0 7 shafts 12 or 16 may be driven from a suitable source of power and may be considered the drive shaft.

Patented May 14, 1957 Shaft 12 has mounted thereon a gear 20 which meshes with gear 21 mounted on shaft 22 carrying a roller 23 and also meshes with a gear 24 mounted on a shaft 25.

The shaft 25 has keyed thereon, as shown at 26 in Fig. 4, one-half 27 of an overrunning clutch, the other half of the clutch being shown at 28. This clutch is of the usual construction and the clutch member 2'7 is driven by the ring member 28 by means of balls 29, the balls 29 being positioned in and cooperating with wedge-shaped notches formed in the peripheral edges of the clutch member 27. The ring member 28 is connected to or mounted on the hub of the gear 24. The shaft 25 also has mounted thereon, as shown in Fig. l, a gear 30 which meshes with a gear 31 mounted on a shaft 32 which carries a roller 33. The roller 33 engages and coacts with a roller 37 mounted on the shaft 25. Gear 30 also meshes with a gear 34 mounted on a shaft 35 which carries a roller 36.

The feeding mechanism A thus operates in the following manner. The sheet S passes over the roller 23 and between rollers 33 and 37 and thence downwardly between rollers 36 and 37 to the feed mechanism B. During this feeding action by the feeding mechanism A the rollers are driven through the overrunning clutch.

The second feeding mechanism, shown at B, comprises a pair of feed rollers 40 and 41 mounted on shafts 42 and 43 which carry intermeshing gears 44 and 45. The gear 45 is driven by gear 46 mounted on the shaft 16 and from the showing in Fig. 1 it will be obvious that the feed rollers 50 and 41 will operate at a much higher rate of speed than the feed rollers 33, 37 and 36 in the feeding mechanism A.

By interposing the overrunning clutch in the drive for feeding mechanism A the feed rollers 40 and 41 are permitted to take the sheet away from the feeding mechanism A without placing the sheet under tension or causing the sheet to tear.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claim.

What we claim is:

Sheet feeding mechanisms for wrapping machines, comprising two sets of feeding mechanisms; the first mechanism for receiving the sheets and delivering the said sheets to the second feeding mechanism including a set of sheet engaging rollers, drive means interconnecting the said rollers wherein they will be synchronously rotated, exterior drive means connected to one of said rollers for driving said set of interconnected rollers at a relatively slow speed, and an overrunning clutch interposed between said exterior drive means and the roller driven thereby, the said clutch being of a ball and wedge overrunning type; the second feeding mechanism being arranged to receive the sheets fed by the first mechanism, and means for driving the second feeding mechanism at a higher rate of speed than the speed of the first feeding mechanism; the said overrunning clutch permitting said set of sheet engaging rollers to synchronously rotate at a speed greater than the speed of said exterior drive means when the sheets being fed are simultaneously engaged by the said first and second feeding mechanisms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 960,138 Adams May 31, 1910 1,837,241 Van Buren Dec. 22, 1931 1,919,238 McCarthy July 25, 1933 2,204,715 Wimmer June 18, 1940 

